Ontogeny of OPN4, OPN5, Gnrh and Gnih Mrna Expression In
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animals Article Ontogeny of OPN4, OPN5, GnRH and GnIH mRNA Expression in the Posthatch Male and Female Pekin Duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) Suggests OPN4 May Have Additional Functions beyond Reproduction Brooke Van Wyk 1 and Gregory Fraley 1,2,* 1 Biology Department, Hope College, Holland, MI 49423, USA; [email protected] 2 Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-765-496-2725 Simple Summary: Birds perceive light differently than mammals. Unlike mammals, birds’ retinas do not participate in the non-image forming, seasonal breeding aspects of light perception. Birds have deep brain photoreceptors that are involved with the seasonal increase in fertility. Until this study, it was unknown how these brain photoreceptors developed after hatching. Our novel finding is that at least one of the photoreceptors, OPN4, is expressed at high levels on the day of hatching, which suggests that this photoreceptor has functions beyond just the reproductive system. These findings could change how we light poultry barns to improve the growth, health and welfare of our poultry species. Citation: Van Wyk, B.; Fraley, G. Abstract: The hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) is known to be regulated by daylength Ontogeny of OPN4, OPN5, GnRH through the deep brain photoreceptor (DBP) system. The post-hatch ontogeny is not known for any and GnIH mRNA Expression in the of the DBPs. We set out to determine the ontogeny of OPN4 and OPN5 gene expression relative Posthatch Male and Female Pekin to GnRH and GnIH using qRT-PCR. Brains and serum were collected from five drakes and five Duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) hens on the day of hatching (Day 0) and again at 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 19, 25 and 31 weeks of age and Suggests OPN4 May Have Additional analyzed by qRT-PCR. Hen and drake serum was assayed for circulating levels of estradiol and Functions beyond Reproduction. testosterone, respectively. Data were analyzed between sexes over time using a repeated measures Animals 2021, 11, 1121. https:// two-way ANOVA. Interestingly, the results show that on the day of hatching (Day 0), ducks showed doi.org/10.3390/ani11041121 adult-like levels of relative OPN4, but not OPN5, gene expression. During week 10, DBP levels Academic Editor: Michael E. Davis increased, achieving highest relative expression levels at week 19 that maintained through week 31, typically peak fertility in ducks. GnRH mRNA levels increased following the DBP expression Received: 18 March 2021 at the onset of puberty, and gonadal steroids increased after GnRH at week 14 while estradiol Accepted: 9 April 2021 preceded testosterone. GnIH mRNA levels did not appreciably change during the time course of this Published: 14 April 2021 experiment. These observations suggest that OPN4 may be active during the peri-hatch period and may have physiological roles beyond puberty and fertility. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in Keywords: melanopsin; puberty; neonate; photoreception published maps and institutional affil- iations. 1. Introduction Lighting systems in commercial poultry have come under increased scrutiny over the Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. last decade. Long daylengths are necessary in order to maintain reproduction in all poultry Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. species, and the duck is no exception [1–3]. Previous studies have attempted to understand This article is an open access article how types of lighting, intensity of light, and color spectra of light are critical to maximize distributed under the terms and the reproduction and welfare of both meat and breeder ducks [4–7]. As with all of our conditions of the Creative Commons poultry species, ducks are seasonal breeders and as such require a minimum of 14 h of light Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// per day in order to maintain fertility [8]. Despite being maintained on a long daylength, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ there are still inexplicable drops in fertility during winter months, along with increased 4.0/). Animals 2021, 11, 1121. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041121 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals Animals 2021, 11, 1121 2 of 10 unwanted behaviors, such as feather picking, aggression, and mislaid eggs [9–11]. In the large part, we do not understand these seasonal phenomena because there is a dearth of information in the literature about how ducks—or other birds—perceive light, not only visually but for seasonal reproduction. However, a series of deep brain photoreceptors (DBPs) have been described in the diencephalon that are involved with maintaining fertility in response to daylength in poultry. DBPs activate the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) through a neuroen- docrine cascade that involves thyroid hormone. At least four DBPs have been putatively identified in the duck, including opsin 4 and opsin 5 [7,12]. It has been shown that DBPs stimulate neurons that signal the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), which is used in pho- toperiodic time measurement. Upon stimulation, the MBH produces the type 2 deiodinase (DIO2) that converts thyoxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3). Conversely, during short day lengths, the MBH produces a thyroid hormone (TH)-deactivating enzyme from the DIO3 gene, which converts T4 and T3 into inactive reverse triiodothyronine, an inactive form of thyroid hormone [13]. Thyroid hormone is critical for many physiological changes associated with post-hatch development and maturation of the central nervous system (CNS). Thyroid hormone is also necessary for normal growth and CNS development, as well as the onset of puberty [14]. Puberty is defined as the initial increase in GnRH secre- tion [15,16]. However, the temporal ontogeny of DBPs relative to hypothalamic maturation of the HPG (GnRH and GnIH) is currently unknown in any avian species. The normal development of the CNS and sexual maturation of GnRH could be driven by differential temporal expression among the DBPs. The purpose of our study was to determine the temporal expression of opsin 4 and opsin 5 as they relate to the ontogeny of GnRH and GnIH gene expression. In order to accomplish this, we euthanized male and female ducks from hatch through the age associated with peak fertility. A more thorough understanding of the expression pattern of DBPs and their respective roles prior to puberty could enable us to better understand the physiological role of light beyond just reproduction, and ultimately to design lighting systems to utilize the temporal expression of each individual DBP in order to maximize the reproductive performance, production, and welfare of Pekin ducks. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Animals Brains from 54 ducklings/ducks were collected at Maple Leaf Farms (Leesburg, IN, USA) from breeder stock housed in commercial barns that produces Gx strain of meat birds. Three male and three female birds were randomly selected on the day of hatch (week 0), and again on weeks 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 19, 25, and 31. All ducks were raised following industry stan- dards for heat, water, and feed. Further, all ducks were raised under fluorescent, J-lamps, which emit a full spectrum of visible light ([17]; ~5000 kelvin, ~65 lux/25.74 uW/cm2), with lights on at 0300 h (LD 18:6). Visual signs of puberty, as defined by age at first lay, typically occur reliably between 15 and 16 weeks of age [9]. The onset of puberty is defined here as the initial rise in GnRH mRNA (for review see [18]). All samples were collected between 0600 and 0800 h each day. Procedures were approved by Hope College’s IACUC (#011803R). 2.2. Tissue and RNA Collection Brains were removed from the ducks, diencephali (thalamus and hypothalamus) dissected, and immediately frozen on dry ice for transportation. Diencephali were dissected rostrally at the septomesencephalic tract, caudally at the third cranial nerve, and dorsally ~5 mm above the anterior commissure. Diencephali were stored at −80 ◦C until being processed. RNA was isolated from the diencephali using commercially available columns following the manufacturer’s recommendations (kit #75162, Qiagen, Germantown, MD, USA). RNA was stored at −80 ◦C until being used for qRT-PCR. Prior to euthanasia, blood was collected from the tibial vein and placed into serum separator tubes, centrifuged, and Animals 2021, 11, 1121 3 of 10 the serum was stored at −20 ◦C until being analyzed for circulating testosterone (T) or estradiol (E2) in drakes and hens, respectively. 2.3. qRT-PCR To complete qRT-PCR analyses, we utilized a Superscript VILO Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA, USA) cDNA synthesis kit. Single-stranded cDNA was synthesized from 2 µg total cellular RNA using oligo(dT)16 primer and superscript II Reverse Transcriptase (Gibco BRL, Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, CA, USA), as recommended by the manufacturer. Five micrograms of RNA were used to perform a reverse transcription reaction using second round primers, and then second strand was synthesized using oligo(dT) primer. The 30 end specific oligonucleotide primers were designed within 300 bp from the 30 end of the transcript and used in qRT-PCR for each of the DPBs or neuropeptides (see Table1 ). Developmental reference genes (GAPDH and β-actin) were averaged and used at every time point for all gene expression analyses. The amplification profile of β-actin and GAPDH, DBPs and the neuropeptides consisted of 36 cycles each for 1 min at 95 ◦C, 30 s at 54 ◦C, and 1 min at 72 ◦C, respectively. The cycles were previously determined to be within the linear range. Final qRT-PCR was performed using the iTaq SYBR Green Supermix (BioRad Inc.; Hercules, CA, USA) following the manufacturers recommendation using a CFX96 Touch REalt Time System (BioRad Inc.; Hercules, CA, USA). Fold changes were determined following by first averaging the ct values for all samples. The delta ct was determined by taking the gene of interest average minus the β-actin average.